ok. so, i have to admit, i dismissed this song quite a few years ago. it was overplayed in college and it just got to be a little overdramatic at times. i wrote it off, assuming it was just a phase, and would die off like "the happy song" and "i will not forget you", never to be heard again.

however. we have played it a couple of times in the last few months at church. and while the chorus doesn't do much for me [dancers who dance upon injustice? the hell?], that last verse? i forgot about that last verse. that last verse is hard to get through.

there is something powerful about knowing that christ died for little old me. but there is something far more intense and powerful and sacred in knowing that christ died for all. our brokenness... it is overwhelming and it is grand and it is frightening and it is beautiful. it is constant and we cannot run from it. what is staggering to me is that the river is forever moving and it is always powerful and it leaves nothing behind. all is washed away in its mighty fury. our weaknesses, our fears, our failures, our struggles and our sins... they are swept up and taken away. we are reminded that his mercies are new every morning. this river is patient and kind and keeps no record of wrongs. it is continuous and cleansing and the gates of hell tremble before its power and the power of those caught up in its mercy and strength. the river, this love, our God, never fails.

brokenness is weird. to refuse its presence, we are nothing. but when we acknowledge it, we gain power beyond measure.

"brokenness is weird. to refuse its presence, we are nothing. but when we acknowledge it, we gain power beyond measure."

Profound thought but so true. Something about confessing our brokenness that helps us realize our utter need to be swept up in the "river." The power over that brokenness comes individually, but something about sharing it in community makes it all the more amazing!

"the hell?" now THAT got me laughing out loud. I agree with Paul: write the damn book. how many times do we have to tell you? with a name like maria s____, you might consider adopting a more flourishy pen name, like Anastasia Splendid, or something along those lines. You have an uncanny way of getting us to laugh, drop our guard, and then poke right at our hearts with theological truths.